A 3-axis magnetometer inside a golf ball to detect the impact location on golf club heads that contain ferrous materials is disclosed herein. Key aspects of a golf shot are determined from within the golf ball itself. A magnetometer, preferably running at 85 Hz, inside a golf ball is able to measure spins of 5000 RPM. An integrated circuit comprises a gyroscope, a magnetometer, and a BLUETOOTH low energy (BTLE) radio, and at least one battery. A body is composed of an epoxy material, and the body encompasses the integrated circuit.

A golf ball alignment device includes a golf ball having an exterior surface. Indicia is disposed on the exterior surface of the golf ball. The indicia include first and second line segments extending along a portion of the golf ball at a spaced interval. The spaced interval is narrower at a first end of each line segment than at a second end of each line segment such that the line segments converge from the second end of the line segments to the first end of the line segments. The indicia provide an alignment reference on the golf ball for a user to align the line segments with at least one of an intended direction of travel of the golf ball and a club head used to strike the ball in the intended direction of travel.

A system and method for measuring golf ball trajectory characteristics is disclosed. A device may collect a user and ball magnetometer and accelerometer frame of reference vectors. A device may calculate frame of rotation coefficients from the user magnetometer frame of reference vector, the user accelerometer frame of reference vector, the ball magnetometer frame of reference vector, and the ball accelerometer frame of reference vector using a Kabsch Algorithm. A device may collect a ball magnetometer time series matrix from the ball magnetometer as the ball is in flight. A device may process the ball magnetometer time series through a Rodrigues Rotation Formula using the frame rotation coefficients to create a rotation vector. A device may calculate a prior vector difference and a second prior vector difference. A device may calculate the spin axes by multiplying the prior vector difference by the second prior vector difference. A device may calculate a Theta vector by taking an arccosine of a dividend of a product of the prior vector difference multiplied by the second prior vector difference divided by a product of an absolute value of the prior vector difference multiplied by an absolute value of the second prior vector difference. A device may calculate the spin rate by dividing a change in Theta by the change in time. A device may display the spin rate and the spin axes on a display device.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for 3D flight tracking of objects includes, in at least one aspect, a method including obtaining (from a camera) two dimensional image data of a golf ball in flight; obtaining radar data (originating from a Doppler radar device) of the golf ball in flight; fitting a curve to the radar data to generate a continuous function of time for the radar data of the golf ball in flight; determining three dimensional location information of the golf ball in three dimensional space including, for each of multiple camera observations, finding a radial distance using the continuous function and a time of the camera observation, finding a depth distance, finding a horizontal distance and finding a vertical distance to the golf ball; and providing the three dimensional location information of the golf ball in three dimensional space to augment other data before display.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for 3D flight tracking of objects include a method including determining a three dimensional trajectory based on initial observations, extrapolating the three dimensional trajectory backward in time to generate an extrapolated trajectory, calculating distance measures between the extrapolated trajectory and defined physical locations, waiting for additional observations when none of the distance measures satisfy a threshold distance, identifying one of the defined physical locations as an origin when only one of the distance measures satisfies the threshold distance and an error measure satisfies a predefined criteria, identifying one of the defined physical locations as the origin when two of the distance measures satisfy the threshold distance and only one of first and second error measures satisfies the predefined criteria, and waiting for additional observations when neither the first error measure nor the second error measure satisfies the predefined criteria.

Electronic tracking systems are disclosed for assisting users with locating objects in a sporting environment. One such system includes a ball tracking component that tracks a game ball while moving in the sporting environment, and a heads up display that is worn by the user. This heads up display has an electronic display screen with a transparent display area that dynamically displays images within the user's field of view. A processor, which communicates with the ball tracking component and heads up display, is programmed to detect movement of the game ball, and responsively determine launch characteristics and/or flight characteristics of the moving game ball. The heads up display displays the launch/flight characteristics contemporaneous with an object indication adjacent to or superimposed over the moving game ball as the game ball is visible through the transparent display area of the display screen within the user's field of view.

A system determining a spin axis of a ball includes a radar transmitting a signal into a target area. The radar includes a minimum of three receivers arranged so that two pairs of receivers are not co-linear. The system also includes a Processing Unit (“PU”) receiving data from the radar and determining a radar range of frequencies received at a point in time corresponding to differing velocities relative to the radar of different portions of the ball as the ball is spinning. PU divides the radar frequency range into a plurality of frequency components and calculating, for each of the frequency components, an angular position associated therewith. PU identifies as a projection of the spin axis in a plane perpendicular to a line of sight from the radar to the ball, a line perpendicular to a line represented by the determined angular positions.

Electronic tracking systems are disclosed for assisting users with locating objects in a sporting environment. One such system includes a ball tracking component that tracks a game ball while moving in the sporting environment, and a heads up display that is worn by the user. This heads up display has an electronic display screen with a transparent display area that dynamically displays images within the user's field of view. A processor, which communicates with the ball tracking component and heads up display, is programmed to detect movement of the game ball, and responsively determine launch characteristics and/or flight characteristics of the moving game ball. The heads up display displays the launch/flight characteristics contemporaneous with an object indication adjacent to or superimposed over the moving game ball as the game ball is visible through the transparent display area of the display screen within the user's field of view.

A sports simulator may include a piece of sports equipment bearing a marking that is configured to at least partially identify the piece of sports equipment, a first sensor configured to automatically detect the marking and a second sensor configured to detect a trajectory of a ball, and a display configured to display a sports simulation. The sports simulator may also receive an identification of the marking, identify a characteristic of a piece of sports equipment associated with the marking, receive the trajectory of the ball, generate simulation data indicative of a virtual ball with a virtual flight path responsive to the trajectory, store the characteristic of the piece of sports equipment in association with the virtual flight path of the virtual ball, and cause the display to display the virtual flight path of the virtual ball in the sports simulation.

A golf practice device of the type having an inclined ramp on which to place a golf ball to determine its roll for the purpose of measuring the speed of a green; the device (1) comprises: a straight main body (2) provided with a first pair of rails (20) for rolling the ball; a base body (3), provided with a second pair of rails (30) for rolling the ball and hinged to the main body (2) so as to vary its configuration with respect to the latter.